A Lanarkshire man caught with a 6ft-high horse sculpture which had gone missing from a Hamilton retail park has been jailed for a total of two years and six months on charges which include reset.

The sculpture, part of the Ready Steady Gallop project, which had been aimed at attracting shoppers to Hamilton town centre, had been situated on a plinth in Palace Grounds in the town, but disappeared in July last year. It was found in the living room of Mark Blair’s home in Wishaw a week later.

At Hamilton Sheriff Court last month, Blair admitted a charge of reset of the ‘Angus Chan’ horse sculpture at his 14 Lammermuir Terrace home in Wishaw on July 22 last year.

The 23-year-old also pleaded guilty to a charge of being concerned in the supply of class-A drug cocaine at the address on July 29, the day the horse sculpture was recovered.

He further admitted breaking into a house in Bothwell’s Old Mill Road on October 20 last year and stealing jewellery and a charge of possessing cocaine at the Lammermuir Terrace house on November 18 last year. All of the offences had occurred while Blair was on bail on other matters.

At Hamilton Sheriff Court last week, Sheriff Thomas Millar jailed Blair for three months on the horse reset charge; 12 months’ on the charge of dealing in cocaine, and 15 months’ on the charge of stealing jewellery from the house in Bothwell.

He also made a Proceeds of Crime confiscation order on the cocaine possession charge amounting to £2421.

Blair’s not guilty pleas to charges of stealing car keys from a house in Wishaw’s Hospital Road on May 26 and stealing two cars there was accepted by the Crown – along with a charge which stated that Blair had failed to report that an accident while he had been driving one of the stolen cars.

‘Angus Chan’ had been one of 25 Clydesdale horse statues situated in Hamilton last summer.

When the intricately decorated blue, gold and white sculpture went missing a campaign to find it was launched on social media.

The horses were later auctioned off to raise money for the Kilbryde Hospice appeal.

Police officers had to turn the statue upside down to get it out of the front door of Blair’s house in Craigneuk.

It emerged from the dwelling with part of its ear missing, but it was thought the damage could be easily repaired.